#WrestleBaku

Greco-Roman World Cup lineups announced

Thursday, October 27, 2022 - 13:02 By Eric Olanowski

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (October 18) --- United World Wrestling has announced the entries for the 2022 Greco-Roman World Cup, which will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, November 5-6.

The two-day dual meet competition will feature the top five teams from the 2022 World Championships, and for the first time ever, an All-World team comprised of the highest-placing athletes from Belgrade whose teams finished outside of the top five in the team standings.

The two-day event will be split into two groups.

Group A will feature the 1st, 4th, and 5th place teams from Belgrade–Turkey, Iran, and Kyrgyzstan, respectively.
Group B will house the 2nd, 3rd and 6th place teams from Worlds–Azerbaijan, Serbia and the All-World team, respectively.

On Saturday, November 5, each team will compete against the other pair of nations in their groups to determine the top two teams.

Session One (10:00): TUR vs. IRI, AZE vs. SRB
Session Two (17:00): IRI vs. KGZ, SRB vs. All-World
Session Three (19:30): TUR vs. KGZ, AZE vs. All-World

Then, on Sunday, November 6, the teams with the best records from Group A and Group B will wrestle for the Greco-Roman World Cup team title, while the teams with the second-best record will square off in the 3rd-4th place match.

Session One (17:00): 3rd place final matches
Session Two: (18:30): 1st place final matches

The Greco-Roman World Cup will feature an All-World team for the first time ever.

The inaugural All-World team in Baku will consist of nine '22 world medal winners--including four runner-ups and three bronze-medal finishers from Belgrade.

The four silver medalists wrestling on the All-World team are Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), Leri ABULADZE (GEO), Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) and Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB). The trio of bronze-medal finishers on the All-World team are Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ), Andrii KULYK (UKR) and Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU).

Joni KHETSURIANI, Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) and Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), who finished in fifth place at the World Championships, rounds out the ten-man All-World squad.

Turkey, the reigning Greco-Roman world champions, is bringing arguably the most loaded squad to Baku. They'll be led by world gold medalists Burhan AKBUDAK and Metehan BASAR. Akbudak won his gold in Belgrade, while Basar won world titles in '18 and '19. They are also bringing Selcuk CAN, Yunus BASAR and Ali CENGIZ, who finished with world bronze medals in Serbia.

Eldaniz AZIZLI, the newly-minted two-time world champion, leads the host nation's entries. He'll be joined on Azerbaijan's team by fellow Belgrade medalists Taleh MAMMADOV, Hasrat JAFAROV, Ulvu GANIZADE and Arif NIFTULLAYEV.

Ganizade won silver in Serbia, while Mammadov, Jafarov and Niftullayev bagged bronze medals in Belgrade.

Rafig HUSEYNOV and Sanan SULEYMANOV, who won world gold and silver in Oslo, respectively, are also featured on Azerbaijan's World Cup team.

Serbia showed out at the 2022 World Championships, winning four of the ten Greco-Roman gold medals. They'll bring two of the four world champions--Sebastian NAD and Mate NEMES--to Baku. Ali ARSLAN and Zurabi DATUNASHVILI have elected to sit out of the Greco-Roman World Cup and will be replaced by Nemes/Aleksa ERSKI and Zarko DICKOV, at 72kg and 87kg, respectively.

Iran is sitting their first-team guys and is sending a squad filled with age-group talent. The most notable wrestlers on their team are 2021 senior world champ Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI and 2019 senior world bronze medal winner Ali NEJATI.

Kyrgyzstan is in a similar position as Iran. They'll sit their first teamers and will be without 2022 world champions Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV and Akzhol MAKHMUDOV. Without their pair of superstars, Kyrgystan will lean on Tokyo Olympian Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV to lead the team in Baku.

Wrestling in Azerbaijan starts November 5-6 and will be streamed live on www.uww.org or on "The Home of Wrestling,' United World Wrestling's brand new app.

Download the United World Wrestling app: Google Play | Apple App Store

Greco-Roman World Cup Entries:
1. Turkey
55kg - Ekrem OZTURK
55kg - Muhammet Emin CAKIR
60kg - Kerem KAMAL
60kg - Mukremin AKTAS
63kg - Ahmet UYAR
67kg - Murat FIRAT
72kg - Selcuk CAN
77kg - Yunus Emre BASAR
77kg - Yuksel SARICICEK
82kg - Burhan AKBUDAK
87kg - Ali CENGIZ
97kg - Metehan BASAR
97kg - Mustafa OLGUN
130kg - Osman YILDIRIM

2. Azerbaijan
55kg - Eldaniz AZIZLI
55kg - Ibrahim NURULLAYEV
60kg - Murad MAMMADOV
60kg - Nihat Zahid MAMMADLI
63kg - Taleh MAMMADOV
63kg - Ziya BABASHOV
67kg - Hasrat JAFAROV
67kg - Namaz RUSTAMOV
72kg - Ulvu GANIZADE
72kg - Gurban GURBANOV
77kg - Sanan SULEYMANOV
77kg - Eljan MAMMADOV
82kg - Rafig HUSEYNOV
82kg - Nasir HASANOV
87kg - Lachin VALIYEV
87kg - Murad AHMADIYEV
97kg - Arif NIFTULLAYEV
97kg - Zamir MAGOMEDOV
130kg - Sabah Saleh SHARIATI
130kg - Beka KANDELAKI

3. Serbia
55kg - Sabolc LOSONC
60kg - Aleksandar BERAROV
60kg  Sebastian KOLOMPAR
63kg - Stefan LISCEVIC
63kg - Perica DIMITRIJEVIC
67kg - Sebastian NAD
72kg - Aleksa ERSKI
72kg - Mate NEMES
77kg - Aleksa ILIC
82kg - Milos PEROVIC
82kg - Viktor NEMES
87kg - Zarko DICKOV
97kg - Mihail KAJAIA
130kg - Sabolc HORVAT

4. Iran
55kg  - Mohammad Mahdi Meraj JAVAHERI FARID
55kg - Poya Soulat DAD MARZ
60kg - Pouya Mohammad NASERPOUR
60kg - Mehdi Seifollah MOHSEN NEJAD
63kg - Saeid Morad Gholi ESMAEILI LEIVESI
63kg - Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI
67kg - Hojat Hassan REZAEI
67kg - Seyed Danial Seyed Shamsollah SOHRABI
72kg - Mohammadreza Mahmoud ROSTAMI
72kg - Amir Ali ABDI
77kg - Aref Mozafar HABIBOLLAHI
77kg - Mohammad Reza Hojatollah MOKHTARI
82kg - Mohammadhossein Ebrahim MAHMOODI
82kg - Alireza Azizkhoon MOHMADIPIANI
87kg - Hamidreza Abbas BADKAN
87kg - Abolfazl Ali CHOUBANI
97kg - Ali Ramezanali ABEDIDARZI
97kg - Mehdi Mohammad BALIHAMZEHDEH
130kg - Fardin Shaban HEDAYATI
130kg - Aliakbar Hossein YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI

5. Kyrgyzstan
55kg - Ulan MURATBEK UULU
60kg - Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV
63kg - Kaly SULAIMANOV
67kg - Khalmurat IBRAGIMOV
72kg - Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV
77kg - Akylbek TALANTBEKOV
82kg - Kalidin ASYKEEV
87kg - Azat SALIDINOV
97kg - Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV
130kg - Erlan MANATBEKOV

6. All-World
55kg - Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
60kg - Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
63kg - Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
67kg - Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
72kg - Andrii KULYK (UKR)
77kg - Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
82kg - Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)
87kg - Turpan Ali Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN)
97kg - Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)
130kg - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)

Five-Time Olympic Champ Lopez Joins China as Greco Coach

Monday, March 30, 2026 - 13:12 By United World Wrestling Press

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Mijain LOPEZ, coach Ruis DIAZ, and all members of the Chinese Greco-Roman wrestling team

By Yang Boyi and Wang Chujie for Xinhua News

BEIJING, China (March 30) -- 18 years ago, Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) claimed his first Olympic gold medal in Beijing, launching an unprecedented reign of five consecutive Olympic titles, a feat unmatched in Olympic wrestling history.

Now the 42-year-old Cuban legend has returned to the Chinese capital, not as a competitor, but as a specially recruited foreign coach for China's national Greco-Roman team.

He arrived alongside Raul DIAZ, the lifelong mentor who guided him through the most dominant stretch of his historic career. Both now serve as United World Wrestling (UWW) Development Ambassadors, making this far more than a routine visit.

It is a homecoming to the city where Lopez's legend was forged, and a full-circle moment for two men whose fates have intertwined with Beijing and each other for nearly two decades.

Ruis DIAZRaul DIAZ (CUB) with the Chinese Greco-Roman national team. (Photo: Xinhua News)

Although Diaz and Lopez first bonded in 1999, their fates did not officially intertwine until after Lopez claimed his maiden Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with Diaz then serving as a coach for the Portuguese national team.

In 2010, Diaz returned as Lopez's full-time head coach, guiding him through the next 14 years and four more consecutive Olympic gold medals from London 2012 to Paris 2024, cementing his status as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time.

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked the final chapter of Lopez's storied career. After clinching his historic fifth title, he knelt to kiss the mat and left his shoes on the canvas - the universal ritual of retirement in wrestling.

"That moment was full of mixed emotions. I was overjoyed with the result, but also overwhelmed with sadness, because I had decided to close the book on my career," Lopez told Xinhua through an interpreter.

"I kissed the wrestling mat to express my gratitude for all the achievements in my wrestling career. This mat and my coach made me the champion I am today. I am thankful for all those days and nights we spent training together."

When asked whether Lopez would have won four more Olympic golds and completed the five-peat without his coaching, Diaz is quick to deflect the credit to his pupil's innate talent and unshakable character.

"Lopez is an exceptional athlete, one of a kind. What makes him great is not just his physical strength, but his mental fortitude," said Diaz. "He competes not for money or fame, but for his love for the Cuban people, wrestling and his family."

"He is family to me," Lopez said of his mentor. "A coach is more than an instructor; he is a guide who walks with you through every critical moment. I hope every athlete can experience this kind of profound connection."

Diaz recalled the words Lopez's father said to him on his deathbed: "Please, be a father to Lopez from now on." Over years of close companionship, the pair have become inseparable.

"I can no longer imagine my life without him," Diaz said.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Reporter interviewing Mijain LOPEZ (center) and Shen SHIYAN (right), Spanish interpreter for the Chinese Greco-Roman team. (Photo: Xinhua News)

Lifetime to Understand China

For both men, China has never been a distant country. For Lopez, Beijing will always be the starting point of his legend. "I have an immense affection for China. It was here that I won my first Olympic gold, the medal that broke the ice and opened a whole new chapter of my career," he said.

Diaz's connection to China stretches back to childhood, with Chinese classmates and family friends. He still remembers the Chinese couple in Havana's Chinatown who always kept a meal warm for him.

"Those simple acts of kindness made me feel a deep closeness to Chinese people from the very beginning," Diaz recalled.

When Lopez stepped onto the mat in Beijing in 2008, Diaz watched with special pride - not just for his former pupil, but for a country he had long felt a bond with.

"The more you learn about China, the more you realize it may take a whole lifetime to truly understand this country," Diaz observed. "Chinese people are kind, honest and down-to-earth. Some countries refuse to see the real China out of prejudice, but there is no better way to know this country than to come here, to see it with your own eyes."

Passing the Torch

Diaz and Lopez have come to Beijing with a clear mission: to pass on decades of experience and training philosophy to help nurture China's next generation of wrestlers.

Zheng PAN (CHN), head coach of China's Greco-Roman team, noted that Diaz prioritizes efficiency in training. "We have more sessions now, but each is shorter. Raul always emphasizes that athletes must give their absolute all in every minute."

Diaz is full of praise for China's young wrestlers, citing their strength, speed, discipline, intelligence and work ethic. "The most important thing is to train with purpose and focus. Chinese wrestlers have every ability to compete with the top athletes in the world."

Lopez echoed his coach's optimism. "These young wrestlers have a bright future. We are here to give them that extra push, to help them stand firm on the world stage."

18 years ago, Lopez arrived in Beijing as a rising talent and left as an Olympic champion. Now they have returned together as legends, ready to pass on the torch and write a new chapter in the decades-long friendship between Cuban and Chinese wrestling.

In November 2025, Diaz received the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award. Standing beside him to share the honor was his star pupil. "That moment felt like a dream," Diaz said. "I want to give all my love for wrestling, my knowledge, and everything I have to this sport."